The Horror on the Wyvern
by Blonde Panther
Summary: FE8. As if the castle being overrun by enemy soldiers, and having to leave her father behind to face what would certainly be a painful death, was not enough, Eirika and her protector are ambushed by the most terrifying foe she would ever face.


**Disclaimer:** Fire Emblem and all names and concepts belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.  
 **Characters and Pairings:** Eirika, Seth, Valter.  
 **Author's Notes:** When it comes to a prompt like 'Horror,' there are two FE8 characters that come to mind immediately. I didn't want to involve Fomortiis just yet since I have another idea with him and there is only one creepiest and most disgusting villain in the game, anyway.

* * *

 _ **The Horror on the Wyvern**_

The castle of her youth had never been as threatening to her as it was when Seth dragged her through the corridors towards the side exit that would take them to the stables. Soldiers of Renais clashed with those of Grado; exchanging arrows and spells as swords and lances clanged onto each other. Every so often, a soldier of Grado would see them, make it past the living barrier of Renais soldiers, and try to attack Eirika- but Seth waited for no one, simply giving a single, hard blow with his own sword that resulted in anything from the wind being knocked out of the soldier to him being bisected.

Where his other hand clutched her wrist, Eirika's veins pounded a million times a minute, in time with her heart. She felt every step they took, and every breath she took ached in her lungs.

Finally, he pulled her through the door, not bothering to slam it shut behind them, and ran towards where a junior knight was holding on to his large dun horse. "Get to Frelia," he told the boy as he caught the reins and helped Eirika into the saddle, "One rider has better odds of slipping by them unseen and your steed is faster and more agile than mine. Warn King Hayden that we're coming!"

"Yes, sir!" With that, the blonde lad rode off, his mare running as if on air. Eirika found her position in front of the saddle, and Seth yelled at his mount to start running before he fully made it into the saddle himself. The beast took off, building up speed before it even cleared the gates. This was to their advantage, as it meant they could bowl over the infantry in their way.

But there was one thing they hadn't counted on. Or rather, one person riding the one mount that could outspeed them.

It was with a deafening thud that the Wyvern landed in front of them, bloodied and wickedly curved talons digging into the dry soil of Renais's mountains. As if the landing itself hadn't been enough to force Seth's steed into a halt, the beast also opened its maw, riddled with tiny, sharp teeth, and gave a shrill shriek that made Eirika want to curl into herself as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

But even that was nothing compared to the man riding the Wyvern. Large and unwashed, with greasy grey hair and a voice that sounded like it had scraped on rocks on its way out of his throat, the man clutched a lance that must once have been the same sterling silver as Seth's preferred weapon, but was so covered in dried and fresh blood that it was hard to tell. His name was Valter; he claimed to be one of Grado's Imperial Six Generals. Eirika shifted in front of the saddle, reaching towards Seth and trying to grab hold of him. She needed to hold on to something, before she passed out.

She had trained with Ephraim, of course. But she had not been prepared to come face to face with a… a monster like this. The way he looked at the two of them was more gruesome than the maw and talons of his wyvern. Her gut instinct was to accept that she would die here. This man would run through her, Seth, or them both. Part of her hoped that would be what would happen. The look in his eyes promised a far worse alternative.

Unlike her, Seth had not wasted time being intimidated. He'd been trying to force his horse to move, to run past the Wyvern, but to no avail- all he had achieved was that the noble beast thrashed its head wildly, front legs coming off the ground in attempts to rear that Seth could only barely nip in the bud, and foamed at the mouth. It had been trained as a warhorse, and Eirika knew it had fought wyverns before, but this was no ordinary foe, and the beast was beside itself with terror.

And then, Valter attacked.

It happened so fast, and yet Eirika swore time passed at only a fraction of its normal pace. The Wyvern pounced, wings furling in on itself as it leapt at the horse and its riders with its fangs bared. Eirika didn't see where they connected with the horse, too busy screaming and throwing herself onto its neck as Seth pushed her out of the way of Valter's bloody lance. Because he had to concern himself with her, however, he was too slow in bringing up his own sword to parry the attack.

Blood escaped his armour as the lance pierced his skin, Valter punching it through Seth's shoulder hard enough that it came out on the other side. Eirika's scream of terror was overshadowed by Seth's roar of pain and Valter's triumphant cackle, until Seth recollected himself, grabbed the lance shaft and pulled it out of himself, dropping his sword in favour of clutching Eirika to himself and trying one last time to make his horse move. This time, he was successful, and despite its consistent tripping over its own legs in its rush to get away, it galloped off.

But they wouldn't last long. It didn't take a battlefield medic to understand that. Seth was losing too much blood too quickly, and judging from how often their horse tripped, Valter's wyvern had hit its mark, too. They hadn't gotten far into the mountains when the noble beast finally collapsed, its front legs giving out as it fell to the ground, both riders falling off in the process.

"Seth!" Eirika wasted no time scrambling to her feet and running over to her knight, grabbing his arm and trying to pull him up. "Get up!" He was barely responsive, and while he did seem to try and push himself up, she failed to get him to his feet. "Come on, Seth!" she cried, her voice breaking on her plea. "Please! You have to get me to Frelia! You can't die-"

She interrupted herself when a large shadow came over her, the distinct breathing of a Wyvern and its monstrous rider interrupting her. Every fibre of her being screamed at her to run, but she knew she could never outrun it. Even if he paused here to finish Seth off, she would be caught within seconds. Unwilling to leave the red-haired knight to his fate alone, she kneeled, snatching up the thin blade he had dropped when he'd fallen, and held it in front of her as a warning, trying to ignore the shaking of her limbs.

Valter laughed- a deep rumble that held no warmth or joy, only morbid amusement. "Such beauty," he said, his voice dripping with ill-contained lust. He lowered his lance, pressing the tip of it against Eirika's cheek and smearing it with fresh blood- blood that must have belonged to Seth, she realized with a shiver, and she stepped back to get away from it. Valter laughed once more, dismounting his wyvern and approaching her not unlike a predator approaching its prey. She lunged, attacking him, but it was hopeless. The back of one gauntleted hand collided with her cheek so hard she fell to the ground, dropping the sword. She rolled over so she could see, and immediately wished she hadn't.

Valter had reached Seth, giving him a kick to the ribs to turn him over, and lifted his lance. Much as she wanted, she couldn't tear her eyes away as this time, the wyvern-riding general took the time to aim carefully and plunged the weapon through a different part of Seth's amour, undoubtedly piercing his heart. As his stopped, Eirika's beat against her throat hard enough that she feared it would escape.

Escape. She had to get away… Trembling, she forced herself to get up, turned around, and tried to run away. But she was far, far too slow. By the time she'd turned, she felt a sickeningly strong hand grabbing her upper arm in a vice grip, pulling her backwards until the Grado general could pin her against him with his arm. She struggled, trying to get under his arm and get away, but he simply held her more tightly against him. "Don't fight it," he said. "I wouldn't like to have to break you." She stiffened, knowing that he could easily make good on his threat.

He climbed aboard his wyvern, using one hand to manipulate the reins and the other to hold Eirika steady. "You've got something the Emperor wants," he said, his breath uncomfortably close and hot on her ear, "And once he has it, you're mine." She shivered at the thought, making him laugh. "All mine…"

She gasped for air, eyes wide as she jolted into a sitting position in bed. Clutching the sheets to her chest and brushing her sweat-drenched hair from her face, she needed a minute to realise that she was in her own bed in Castle Renais rather than on the back of a Wyvern, about to be kidnapped by a man who had terrified her enough that apparently, she still dreamt of him. A little bit of moonlight filtered through the curtains, letting her see the silhouettes of her bedchamber. She turned to her side, smiling in relief at the sight of the man on the other side of her bed.

In the semi-darkness she couldn't make out colours or details, but she knew that rather than the unkempt man from her nightmare, beside her was her gentle-mannered, loving husband. Still smiling, and now reassured that she had, indeed, only had a terrible nightmare, she crawled back under the sheets, huddling up against Seth's strong back and slipping her arms around him. One hand rested on his chest, where she felt the regular, constant beat of his heart, which she allowed to lull her into a peaceful slumber.

She had almost drifted off when, in his sleep, Seth put his hand over hers and squeezed, warming her heart. All it had been was a nightmare; that was the only place where the Moonstone could still haunt her. And even then, her devoted and very-much-alive husband did everything he could to protect her.


End file.
